Jaguars hit an unexpected roadblock

Running backs Drew and Taylor are unable to deliver big yardage.

Hays Carlyon

The running back duo of Fred Taylor and Maurice Drew continued to be anything but dynamic for the Jaguars.

In Sunday's 23-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the pair failed to produce. Drew and Taylor, who entered the game averaging a combined 90 yards rushing a game, managed 63 yards on 20 carries against the Browns.

"Our offensive line fought their butts off, but we couldn't consistently run against [the Browns]," Drew said. "I'll have to look at the film to see if we're struggling and why."

Quarterback David Garrard was the team's leading rusher with 59 yards.

"It makes it tough on the whole offense when we can't run well," Garrard said. "But I still feel like we can hit passes downfield, regardless. We'll just have to keep at it. We can't get away from trying to run the football."

Drew was held to 29 yards on 12 carries for a 2.4-yard average. Before facing the Browns, Drew had a healthy 4.5-yard average.

"Our stats aren't showing that we're two of the best backs in the league," Drew said. "It's frustrating to have games like this when you're considered to be one of the best running teams in the league. We've got to run the ball more, and we need to find a way to do it more consistently."

The Browns weren't exactly thought to be a stiff test for Jacksonville's rushing attack with a run defense that ranked 26th in the NFL. Still, Cleveland was able to limit Taylor and Drew to a long gain of 5 yards.

"I think we did a good job," Cleveland defensive tackle Shaun Rogers said. "We knew people would try to run on us because somebody [Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis] had a big day against us last week. So, we went out there and tried to fix the things we worked on during the week and came out successful."

The Jaguars' offensive line was consistently overmatched by the Browns' front seven and rarely opened holes for Taylor or Drew.

"It all starts up front with us, and we just didn't get the push we needed," Jaguars center Brad Meester said. "They did a great job up front, and we were unable to open up holes against them."